The sooner he got this assignment over with, the better. Things were coming to a head with the Guildmaster’s plan to establish his own kingdom, and Nero wanted to be in his power wake when the Talon Thieves Guild became the first guild in history to establish its own nation. The King of Armena was dead thanks to him, the gem would soon be recovered thanks to him, and the King of Kentar would soon be killed with Guild assistance. The Guildmaster had made it clear at the last Inner Circle meeting that in addition to these three objectives, the Philosopher organization needed to be destroyed as well. Gaston had been assigned to complete this nearly impossible task, but now that Gaston was dead, he had the sneaking suspicion the task would fall to him. So, he needed to take some acceptable risks to recover the gem sooner rather than later so he could refocus his energy on the destruction of the Philosophers.
With his mind made up, Nero scanned the sanctuary of the church looking for the companions. He quickly focused his attention on the door in the back-left corner where he heard movement and talking. He moved silently to the right side of the open door and listened to what was being said. He immediately spotted the two dead Krone at the entryway and almost breathed a sigh of relief. Death to the Krone. As the voices in the room seemed to move toward the back wall, Nero chanced a glance into the room. He peered around the entryway and saw two more dead Krone in the back of the room. Mestel, Xander, and some human woman he didn’t recognize were descending into the cellar.
Nero thought for a split second about the situation he now found himself in. On the one hand, since four Krone already lay dead on the floor, it did not bode well for his plans to kill the companions. On the other hand, half the companions were going downstairs into the cellar. If he could find a way to move Valihorn and Evisar into the main sanctuary, he and his Krone allies could divide and conquer. With his mind again made up, Nero walked silently into the room and approached Evisar from behind.
When Evisar turned around, Nero’s stealthy appearance startled him, but that was entirely the point. It was a subtle jab to Evisar that Nero was more powerful than he was without ruffling too many feathers. It also impressed the ragtag leader with his skills, which was a good thing to do from time to time. Evisar exchanged some small talk with him, while Nero looked around the room for anything else that seemed interesting. He noticed the Krone on the floor directly behind Evisar was still breathing, and in that instant, he knew how he was going to kill the companions. He walked calmly past Evisar and knelt down next to the fallen Krone whom he had never seen before.
Nero said, “This one looks to still be alive. We should stabilize him before he dies. That way we can interrogate him to find out why the Krone are in Wessex.” Now came the crucial part to his plan. “Help me move him out into the main sanctuary where we can find better light.”
Nero kept his face passively neutral, but inside his excitement level jumped as Evisar saw the logic in what he proposed and moved over to help. Together, they moved the Krone into the sanctuary and set him down in front of the main altar on the first step of the dais. Nero tied up the downed Krone and searched the body. Then he turned to Valihorn and said, “Do you know where Xander is? We need him to heal this Krone so we can ask him some questions.”
Valihorn nodded his head and said, “He is down in the cellar. I will go and get him for you.” Valihorn walked toward the back room and passed out of sight.
Nero smiled on the inside. Now the trap was set. He could feel them approaching from the outside. If only the Krone would be smart enough to attack right now. Evisar walked along the perimeter and Nero was afraid he would see the Krone approaching.
He said, “Come and have a look. I found one interesting item on this Krone.”
Evisar walked down the center aisle toward Nero when one of the windows shattered and an arrow suddenly appeared in Evisar’s shoulder. Evisar was thrown forward and hit the floor with a loud thud, screaming out in pain. Nero watched with satisfaction as the main doors to the church flung open. Two Krone ran into the church armed with swords and a third one walked in behind armed with a bow. Nero recognized one of the swordsmen as the Krone he had met earlier in the alleyway. Nero threw himself to his feet and drew his rapier.
Evisar, wounded as he was, also moved quickly to his feet and drew his magnificent sword. Nero didn’t know much about Evisar’s sword or where it had come from, but he knew a magic weapon when he saw one. After the companions were dead, he vowed that it would be his.
The two Krone swordsmen charged down the main aisle while the archer pulled out another arrow and prepared to shoot again. Nero moved forward, knowing there was no way Evisar could avoid an archer when two swordsmen were coming on. Just as the archer was taking aim and about to release his weapon, Nero heard two arcane words ring out in crystal clarity throughout the sanctuary. Nero glanced behind him and saw Valihorn standing at the doorway in the back of the room. Nero looked on with annoyance, knowing there was nothing he could do as the archer froze in place, unable to move.
The two swordsmen obviously did not have the greatest of skills either, as they attacked Evisar one at a time, rather than as a coordinated pair. The first swordsman ran forward and swung down at Evisar in a chopping motion. Evisar moved to his left and swung his weapon at the exposed back of the Krone, biting deep into his flesh. The Krone fell to the floor, but Evisar found it necessary to turn his attention to the second swordsman, parrying his swing just in time.
Nero continued walking toward the fight. The Krone that Evisar had just cut to the ground was the one Nero had met in the alleyway. The Krone climbed quickly back to his feet and recognized Nero as he approached. He nodded reassuringly at Nero and turned his attention back to Evisar. Nero wasted no time. He walked up to the fight and impaled the Krone through the back with all the hatred and fury he could summon for his mortal enemy. Thanks to their incompetence, Nero’s chance to kill the companions and steal back the gem had fallen by the wayside. These Krone were a bunch of rambling idiots and they would pay for their ignorance with their worthless lives. Nero thrust his rapier deep into the back of the Krone and then pulled it back out. The Krone fell to the floor and looked up at Nero with disbelieving eyes. Nero didn’t care. His anger was beyond control. How had this marvelous opportunity slipped through his fingers? Valihorn must have heard Evisar’s cry and came back to help. Had he not been able to freeze the archer in place, Evisar would now be dead. Nero would have to bide his time and wait for another opportunity to steal the gem. He wasn’t going to take the chance of outing himself just for the blind hope that they might be able to kill the companions. And he sure as seven hells wasn’t going to risk himself to save some idiotic Krone. Perhaps they could have won, but Nero wouldn’t take that chance. He would wait for a time that was certain. The time would come when the gem would be right in front of him; his for the taking. Until that time, he would have to play along.
_______________________________________
Evisar finished the two Krone off with the help of Valihorn and Nero. Evisar knew he was a fine warrior, and with Neverlost in his hand he was even better, but the archer would surely have killed him if Valihorn hadn’t come to his aid. Likewise, he would have been stabbed through the back if Nero hadn’t been there. After the battle, Evisar and Nero dragged the magically frozen archer over to where the bound Krone lay on the wooden floor.
After the second Krone was tied up, Evisar looked up at the companions who had saved his life in battle once again and said, “I’m going to keep an eye on these two for the time being. Nero, would you mind standing guard at the main entrance? I don’t want any more surprises to come through those doors.” Without a word, Nero nodded his head and walked down the aisle toward the main church entrance. “Valihorn, will you go down into the cellar and find out what is keeping Mestel and Xander?”
Valihorn nodded his head and turned to go, when he suddenly turned back around and said, “And Ellen. Don’t forget about Ellen.”
Evisar guarded
his voice. “Yes, of course. Will you go see if they are alright and tell Xander we need his healing powers?”
“Of course.” Valihorn headed for the back room and passed out of sight for the second time.
Not long after, Evisar was sitting on a pew contemplating what to do next when the magic holding the Krone archer subsided. The Krone struggled against the binding around his hands and legs, causing Evisar to concentrate on the immediate problem. Up until the companion’s ordeal with the Old Shetley Fortress, Evisar had never seen a Krone in the flesh. He had learned their language, history, and culture in his younger years, but that was a far cry from meeting one of his mortal enemies in person. He thought it would be easier to hate a race than it would be to hate any individual of that race; but looking at the male Krone as he struggled silently against his binds, Evisar could only conclude that he despised everything about this dark foe. The stark contrast of his white hair against his dark gray skin was offensive. It was a primal hatred that welled up inside of him. His prejudice was instinctual, not learned from experience.
His one interaction with the Krone named Seril at the Old Shetley Fortress had been an honorable one. Seril had shared a bond with Evisar in much the same way that he and Tristan had shared a warrior’s bond. Now Seril was dead, and he wished the two Krone in front of him were dead as well. If only he didn’t need answers, then he could drink from the well of revenge about to overflow in his soul.
Still sitting down, Evisar turned his head toward the Krone archer and asked, “What is your name?”
The Krone stopped moving against his restraints and said, “Tinich.”
“Well, Tinich, now that you can talk again, why were you trying to kill me?”
“Isn’t it obvious? We are natural enemies. Our gods have warred in the heavens for thousands of years, just as we have warred on Tellus for the same amount of time. We are taught to hate surface elves from the time we can walk. There is no escaping it.”
Evisar shook his head. “Come on, you can do better than that. You’re a long way from the darkness of the Underworld. Why is your group in this town? What have you done with the townspeople?”
Tinich just sat there in silence. After a time, Evisar tried again. “Okay, let’s start simple. How many Krone are in this town?”
Tinich did not say a thing. Evisar stood up and spoke loud enough to fill the sanctuary. “How many Krone are in this town?”
Still nothing but silence. Evisar’s instinctual hatred of the Krone, combined with the throbbing pain of his shoulder and the knowledge that the one who shot the arrow into his shoulder was sitting right next to him, made Evisar lash out with anger. He slapped Tinich hard across the face. He did it again and again. Then he clinched his fingers into a fist and punched the Krone squarely in the face.
“How many Krone are in this town!?”
Evisar was startled when Nero spoke up from across the room. “That won’t work.”
“What!”
“I’m an expert on the Krone, and I’m telling you that torture won’t work. What you’re doing is child’s play compared to what he has experienced since he was a baby in the Underworld.”
An older voice interrupted the conversation. “Maybe I can find another way to get the information you need.” Evisar looked behind him and saw the wizard Austen walking out of the back room with the priest Lazarus, Mestel and Ellen, Valihorn, and Xander. “Evisar, why don’t you stand aside, and I will convince this Krone to answer all of your questions.”
Evisar stood up and walked a few steps away. Austen walked up to Tinich and went down on one knee as though he were praying. Evisar watched with curiosity as Austen waived his hands subtly in the air and whispered something in Tinich’s ear.
After a moment, Austen stood up with confidence and asked, “How many Krone are in this town?”
Tinich adopted a conversational tone and answered Austen as if they were sitting down to tea. “There were nine of us and Mortem.” Then he looked at his dead comrades all around. “Now there are fewer.”
Tinich went on to blandly discuss his time in the Plane of Chaos and how Mortem rescued him and gave him a divine purpose.
Once the basics were established, Ellen let go of Mestel’s hand and walked several steps forward. “Ask him about my daughter. Ask him what happened to Faye.”
Austen asked the question and Tinich said, “Well, I don’t know who your daughter is, and I certainly don’t know anyone by the name of Faye. What kind of name is Faye? There is no denying you are an awfully fine-looking woman for a human, but why are all your names so soft? Faye. Even the way it comes off my tongue makes me want to go to sleep… Faye…”
Mestel took a step forward, but Austen threw his hand up in the air and stopped him in his tracks.
“Tinich, did you, or one of your comrades, or perhaps Mortem, do anything with a human girl from Wessex?”
Tinich listened intently to every word Austen said and sat back as if to tell a story. “Well now, it is true. There was a girl playing in the street when we first came out of the portal. Mortem recognized her right away and seemed to think the girl had some kind of great magical potential. He said something about the girl making all the difference in the war against the elves of Armena.”
Austen said, “So what happened to the girl?”
“Oh, didn’t I say it already? Mortem sent the girl to the city of Locus with a Krone named Schtop. They left on horseback almost half a day ago.”
At this conversational statement from Tinich, Ellen screamed at the top of her lungs. “No!” Then she flung herself at the Krone seated on the steps. Before anyone could overcome their shock, she started hitting him while wailing at the same time. Evisar was about to stop the killing of the messenger when Mestel moved forward.
Mestel grabbed Ellen’s arms from behind and dragged her off the Krone. “Ellen, that isn’t helping. Ellen, stop this.”
Ellen turned on Mestel and started hitting him in the chest with her arms. She continued screaming, but what she said was beyond comprehension. Mestel hugged her fiercely and let Ellen cry into his shoulder.
Mestel said to everyone, “If you will excuse us. I’m going to take her into the back room so we can figure out where to go from here. Mestel turned Ellen around, led her slowly into the back room containing the priest’s altar, and shut the door.
Evisar let them go, glad to be rid of the distraction. There were critical decisions to make and important questions that needed asking. The last thing any of them needed was his brother’s woman going hysterical. Evisar looked over at Austen and the wizard met his gaze. With a knowing look, Evisar nodded in the direction of the Krone who had become so agreeable. Austen bent over and whispered something in Tinich’s ear, and with a wave of his hand the Krone fell fast asleep.
“Where are the rest of the townsfolk?” Evisar asked.
Austen said, “Most of them are down in the cellar. We went there after the portal opened. I would gladly have helped you during your engagement with the demon Krone, but I was tied to a post and under guard.”
“How did Mortem get you to surrender?”
“The same way he got you to surrender. He held a child hostage and said he would kill her if we did not yield. I think they wanted all of us out of the way so they could focus their collective energy on you.”
Xander said, “That figures.”
Evisar said, “Austen, we came back to Wessex to seek your advice and hopefully your help. What happened at the Old Shetley Fortress is a long story, but suffice it to say, the fortress was destroyed in part by the dragon. In repayment of the debt he owed Malachite, Valihorn was tricked into taking a ring off a dead Krone Witch. As soon as Valihorn took the ring off the Witch and put it on his finger, the two portals opened, and the fortress was sucked into the Plane of Chaos. Now Valihorn can’t take off the ring. At this point, we just want to get rid of it. Do you have a way to remove the ring from Valihorn’s finger?”
Austen looked stric
ken. “I feared something like this had happened when the portal burst open and my tower was destroyed. Luckily, I was outside when the portal opened, otherwise I would have been sucked into the Plane of Chaos along with my tower. I do not know how this ring was created or how the Krone Witch obtained it, but we have to find a way to control its power. The portals have created a direct conduit to the Plane of Chaos, which in turn leads to the heavens. There is no telling what manner of creature will come through, and the problem will only worsen the longer the portals are open. Eventually, the portals will not be able to be closed.”
Evisar spoke up a little louder. “Can you take the ring off Valihorn’s hand?”
“No, damn it. I cannot. Not without cutting off Valihorn’s finger. And even then, I would not be able to control the power of the ring.”
“I’m surprised to hear you say you have limits.”
“It is not easy for me to say, but you must hear the truth. The only ones that can control the power of the ring are the wizards of Armena or the Sorcerers of Kentar.”
Evisar was quick to say, “You know returning to Armena is not an option for Mestel and me.”
“I know. So off to Kentar you must go. You must go to the capital city of Jewlian and meet with the Sorcerers. They have anti-magic rooms where the power of the ring can be contained. If the ring is placed in one of those rooms, the portals will close and the boundaries between Tellus and the heavens will return to normal.”
Do the Gods Give Us Hope? Page 8
